Three Times Daryl Dixon Couldn't Sleep and One Time He Could
by yhim817
Summary: It's not that he doesn't trust her to keep watch, he just knows he won't be able to sleep. So why not take watch and let her sleep?


It had been a week since they found out about Terminus and the train tracks. They could go to this safe haven. Maybe the rest of their people would be there. They had kept close to the tracks for a couple of days, then Daryl started leading them deeper into the woods, further away from the tracks. He didn't like the idea of that place. His gut told him something was wrong with it. He'd never go against his gut again. Not after the prison.

Beth figured out after half a day that they weren't following the tracks anymore. She surprised him though when she didn't make a fuss. She just kept following him, not saying anything.

Four days after diverting from the tracks did he realize she was trying to track their people.

"Daryl, wait." she called out quietly.

Daryl held in a groan as he paused and turned to look at her. She was crouching on the ground, brushing aside some dirt and leaves. She picked something up and held it out for him to see. "It's a bracelet. Looks exactly like the one that Annie made."

Daryl took the bracelet from her, remembering the little girl Beth was talking about. He looked down at the area where she had found it. He slowly stepped back, still looking at the ground. "Four people. Made camp here maybe two, three days ago."

Beth stood. "We can catch up. We can find them. Maybe they're still alive."

He looked at Beth's eyes. All that earnest hope. He wondered how she could still have it after all the shit that's happened.

He should've told her no. It was impossible. They would probably never find any survivors from the prison. The only thing they needed to do was survive. "Come on," he said, turning his direction and following the track.

In the back of his mind, Daryl thought that maybe it'd be a good idea to teach Beth how to track.

They followed the tracks for a good few hours until they ran into walkers. Four of them to be exact. Beth turned around, closing her eyes as Daryl put all four of them down. Including Annie.

Daryl started leading them in a different direction. They picked up their pace, trying to put as much space between them and the last hope they had.

By the time they had made camp, Daryl could see how exhausted Beth was. Not just physically, but emotionally. She hadn't cried when they found the walkers. She hadn't cried when she saw Annie as a walker or after Daryl had put her down. She kept her shoulders squared and followed the hard pace he set. But he noticed the defeat that started entering her eyes.

"I'll take first watch," she said, throwing aside the bones of a small squirrel.

"Nu-uh. " Daryl grunted.

Beth looked at him, a small frown on her face. "I'm fine. I can do it."

Daryl motioned his head towards the makeshift tent. "No. Get some sleep."

He could see the protests rising up in her. But then she looked down at her hands. She had kept Annie's bracelet. She didn't look up at him as she stood and crawled into the tent.

Daryl's ears had been trained to pick up on the softest of sounds. That was what made him a great tracker. That was also why he could hear Beth's soft cries for half the night. She had finally managed to fall asleep, but even then, he could hear soft whimpers coming from the tent.

Morning finally came. Daryl had managed to keep busy and awake the whole night, but he could already sense his body protesting at his decision. Beth crawled out of the tent as the sun was making its way over the horizon. She stretched and rubbed her eyes, sitting on the ground in front of the small fire Daryl had started to build.

"How'd you sleep?" Daryl asked.

Beth looked up, a look of surprise on her face. He had never asked that before. She looked back at the fire and wrapped her arms around her chest. "Fine."

Daryl knew she was lying and Beth knew that he knew. But neither called the other out and they started their small morning routine.

* * *

It seemed like it had been a month since they burned down that cabin. Daryl wondered if maybe they should've kept some of the moonshine. He didn't want to get drunk and after Beth had her first hangover, he was fairly certain she didn't want to get drunk either. But it'd be nice to have something other than questionable water to drink sometimes.

It had also been a month since they had to run. Walkers were becoming scarce the further they went into the forest. It probably had something to do with civilization and everything, but Daryl also wondered if it was because of the change in weather. The temperature was slowly dropping. Not only could he tell because of his protesting joints, but also because of the constant shivering Beth seemed to be doing. That yellow polo from the country club wasn't doing anything to keep her warm.

"Daryl, look. Another cabin." Beth said, pointing it out through the tree line.

Daryl had noticed it earlier, but hadn't mentioned it. He wanted to see how long it was take Beth to spot it. Another one of his little tests to see how could of a tracker she would be. "Good eye," he said. He was being honest. He hadn't expected her to notice it until they came closer.

"Maybe we'll find more moonshine." Beth said with a small grin.

Daryl grunted. "Why? So you can burn down another place?"

Beth rolled her eyes, but laughed quietly.

Daryl smirked a little. They continued to make their way to the cabin, slowly creeping up the porch. Daryl exchanged a look with Beth and she nodded, already knowing his plan. He banged on the door a few times, waited, then threw it open. He stepped in and swept the entrance. When Beth saw him lower his crossbow, she stepped inside as well, pulling out her knife to be prepared.

Beth's hand quickly went to her nose. "What's that smell?"

Daryl had smelled it too. He covered his nose as he walked further in. There was an icebox at the other end. It was opened and Daryl took a look.

The icebox was filled with rotted meat. He slammed the top of it down, but the smell still lingered. "We can't stay here."

"There has to be stuff in here that we can use. Doesn't seem like anyone's gone through this place." Beth said.

Daryl nodded. "Can't stay long. We still need to find somewhere for the night."

Beth didn't hesitate. She grabbed one the bags and took it with her into the back room. Daryl went through the kitchen, pulling out whatever canned foods they could eat.

Daryl could make out the sound of groaning. He glanced outside and saw a small group of five walkers heading towards them. He stuffed one last can into his bag before going to the back room. "Beth, we gotta go."

Beth looked up, stuffing a blanket into the bag. She didn't question him as they quickly made their way out and started running. It had been the first time they had run in a while, but they still ran just as fast.

As they ran, they had to dodge several small groups of walkers. That had to mean they were getting closer to some type of civilization. The sun was just beginning to set when the trees started thinning out and they could make out a neighborhood about a mile away. There didn't seem to be too many walkers, but with night approaching, Daryl didn't want to risk anything.

"You okay with sleeping in a tree?" he asked, still looking around to see if there was some other option.

"Don't really have much of a choice, do we?" she said, already looking at the trees to find the sturdiest one.

Daryl grunted in agreement.

Beth stood in front of a tree, looking up and then looking back to Daryl. He nodded, lacing his fingers together and knelt down. Beth placed a foot there and Daryl started lifting her.

"Heavier than you look." he muttered.

Beth dug her heel into his hand and he knew she heard. He smirked.

Beth grabbed the lowest branch and started pulling herself up. Daryl straightened, watching her as she climbed, making sure she didn't misstep and fall. Once she seemed settled enough, Daryl jumped up, grabbing the branch Beth had first grabbed and began climbing.

He stopped on the branch just underneath Beth. He looked up to ask if she was okay when she dropped something on his face. "What the hell?" he grumbled pulling it away.

Beth laughed. "Found it back at that cabin. Looked like your size."

Daryl squinted, barely able to make out the coat in the dim light.

"Don't just stare at it. Try it on." Beth said.

Daryl glanced up at her before slipping it on. It was warm and it fit perfectly. "Thanks," he said, not sure what else to say. "You find something for yourself?"

Beth pulled out a blanket. "It'll do for now."

Daryl reached up and rubbed it between his fingers. It was thin. It wouldn't keep her warm at all.

"I can find something later." she said before he could make any comment.

Daryl reached into his bag and pulled out a can. He tossed it up to her and they ate in comfortable silence.

"I'll take first watch." Beth said after a while.

"No, it's fine. I'll do it."

"Daryl-"

"Go to sleep, Beth."

She let out frustrated sigh. "Fine. But wake me up." she grumbled. He could hear her shifting to get comfortable, but making sure she wouldn't fall in the middle of the night. Within minutes, Daryl could hear her steady breathing and knew she was sound asleep. He looked up, making sure she had secured herself well enough before starting to climb out of the tree.

His steps were quiet as he made his way towards the neighborhood. There were a few more walkers out than before, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He avoided them for the most part, but for the few that were in his way, he put down without any trouble. He went through the houses, killing any walkers that were in there. He would grab any supplies that were out and readily accessible, but he was looking for something in particular.

Daryl went through four houses before finally finding what he came out here for. By the time he made it back to the tree, the sun was starting to rise. He didn't feel as tired as he thought he would as he climbed the tree. He tried not to make too much noise, but Beth was already stirring by the time he had settled into the branch.

She let out a soft moan as she stretched. "I told you to wake me up." she grumbled.

Daryl didn't respond. Instead, he tossed up the item he had grabbed on his run.

Beth looked at it and Daryl smirked at her shock. "What…where did you get this?"

"Found it in one of the houses over there."

Beth buried her freezing hands into the sweater. It was warm. Much warmer than the coat she had found for Daryl. Gray cotton that would most likely be itchy, but she would get used to it. "You mean, you went out there at night by yourself?"

Daryl held in a groan. He knew she would start chewing him out about how dangerous and reckless it had been and how could he leave her in the tree and it could've waited until morning and-

"Thank you, Daryl. Thank you so much." Beth said, interrupting his thoughts and pulling the sweater over her head.

Daryl looked up at her and she was looking down at him, smiling. He felt himself smiling back at her before his ears started burning and he looked away. He cleared his throat. "Come on, we're burning daylight."

* * *

Daryl wasn't sure if maybe it was Hershel watching out for them from wherever he was or if it was just pure luck, but they had found a place where they could be safe for the night. Daryl could almost call it a miracle, considering they had been wandering for nearly three months now and hadn't found anything quite like this funeral home.

He laid in the coffin, listening to Beth singing and gently playing the piano. He didn't look at her. He couldn't. He would feel something strange in the pit of his stomach whenever he did. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't good. To be honest, Daryl didn't understand it and he didn't need something like that right now. Not while they were still trying to hide from walkers and survive.

Daryl closed his eyes and cleared his mind. He just wanted to listen to Beth right now. Enjoy her voice and the songs she sang. Half of them he had never heard and the other half he remembered his mom singing when she was still alive.

He wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed, but Beth stopped playing the piano and singing. He opened his eyes and saw her hobbling over to the couch. "You going to sleep?" he asked.

Beth jumped a little and looked at him. "Yeah. I thought you were already asleep."

Daryl shook his head sitting up.

"Well, I can go ahead and take first watch. You can sleep," she said, sitting on the couch.

"This place seems sturdy enough. Don't think we need to keep watch."

"Really?" Beth asked, her face lighting up.

Daryl climbed out of the coffin. "It's comfier in here. You take it."

Beth pursed her lips. Daryl could tell she wanted to argue. But a yawn escaped her mouth. "If you insist." she said, standing up and making her way to the coffin.

Daryl stepped back and watched as she braced her hands against it. She seemed to be trying to figure out to get in without hurting her ankle further. "Let me help." he said.

Beth turned to look at him just as he placed his hands on her waist. He could see her swallow hard and quickly looked away from his face. Daryl tried not to let his hands linger as he lifted her and gently deposited her in the coffin. He didn't watch as she moved around to get comfortable.

He heard her hum contentedly. "You're right. It is pretty comfy."

Daryl blew out the candle and made his way to the couch.

"Daryl?" Beth called out after a few moments.

"Hm?"

She didn't respond right away. "What if…?" she paused.

Daryl frowned, waiting for her to continue. After the time they had spent together, Beth had stopped hesitating when talking to him. "This place is safe, right?" she finally asked.

"As safe as anything can get now." he responded.

"Well…what if we stayed here?"

Daryl pursed his lips in thought.

"I mean, at least until winter passes. It'd be nice to finally stay somewhere for more than one night, wouldn't it?"

"I don't know," Daryl mumbled.

Beth didn't say anything else and Daryl finally heard her steady breathing after a while. He closed his eyes, trying sleep too. But he couldn't. That strange feeling he would feel every once in a while was burning him and seemed to be eating him alive.

Daryl groaned as he quickly stood up and left the room. He started walking through the house, looking through every room with only the little light from the moon. This place was well stocked. And it was clean. Daryl couldn't help but feel that something was off with this place. It was too perfect.

He didn't know how long he had been wandering the house, but he finally stopped and leaned against the front door. He listened for the sound of walkers, but it was completely quiet. He could actually make out an owl in the distance. Maybe Beth was right. Maybe they could stay here for a while. At least until winter passed.

Sunlight started to make it through the cracks on the window. Another night had passed and Daryl had managed not to sleep. He slowly stood up, his body protesting, and went back into the room where Beth was sleeping.

Light was slowly filling the room. Daryl leaned against the doorframe, his eyes not leaving Beth.

She was still asleep in the coffin. Her uninjured leg was hanging out and she seemed to be twisted in an uncomfortable position. Her hair was covering her face and Daryl wondered how she could possibly sleep like that.

A sigh escaped her lips and she sounded completely content. Daryl smiled to himself and shook his head. He walked out of the room and headed to the kitchen. After everything they'd been through, a nice little surprise breakfast might be nice.

He set everything out, rearranging the food several times before being satisfied with it. He went back to the room and laid down on the couch. He couldn't sleep, his heart pounding for an inexplicable reason. That feeling in his stomach had intensified, but Daryl was strangely welcome to the feeling.

He chewed on his thumbnail, waiting for Beth to wake up. When he finally heard her stirring, he sat up.

She rubbed her eyes and propped herself up against her elbows. She smiled when she saw Daryl. "Morning,"

"How'd you sleep?" Daryl asked.

Beth stretched. "I don't think I've slept that good since the farm." Beth said, the smile still on her face.

Daryl nodded in approval before standing up. "Come on, I want to show you something in the kitchen."

Beth raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Daryl smirked, the feeling in his stomach exploded and he didn't think he could feel any more content in this moment. "It's a surprise."

* * *

It had been almost a year and a half since he lost her. If he could barely sleep before, he couldn't sleep at all now. Any sleep he did get was always restless, filled with dreams. Her smile, her last words to him, running down that endless road, blood everywhere, holding her still body in his arms. He always joked with her about how heavy she was, but that last time he held her, she felt heavier than before, to the point where he almost couldn't carry her. But he had to hold her one last time.

And then things erupted. A herd of walkers. The people at Grady refusing to leave, despite the herd that was likely to destroy the building. They were always on the move now. Nowhere was safe. And while they were running, Daryl couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them. It wasn't the people from Terminus. They were all dead now. No, this was something else.

Daryl would always stay in the back, hoping to catch a glance of whoever was following them. And then one day, the feeling was gone and Daryl knew they weren't being followed anymore. He wasn't sure if the person gave up or if they died. But it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore except their survival. And even then, Daryl wondered if that was enough.

But things only became stranger. A month ago, Daryl started to feel the feeling of being watched creep up again. It wasn't as strong as before, but it was there. Someone was tracking them again. Daryl was on high alert. Something big was about to happen, he could feel it.

Nothing could prepare any of them for what would actually happen though.

A small herd of walkers, about thirty of them, came out of nowhere. They were surrounded and they had to fight their way through. So far, no one had fallen, but everyone was tired. They could barely keep standing, much less fight these walkers. Daryl wondered if this was finally it for them. Their last stand.

Daryl stabbed a walker through its eye. He tried pulling out his knife, but it was stuck. Another walker was coming towards him. He grunted, refusing to give up his knife. Everyone else was busy trying to fight other walkers. Daryl could feel his strength leaving his body. They were fighting a losing battle. And Daryl suddenly began to wonder what the point of it was anymore.

His knife finally came out of the walker and he raised it to go against this new one. But his hands had already latched onto Daryl's arms and was pulling Daryl towards his open mouth.

Daryl's mind went into fight mode, but as he started to pull away from the walker, it suddenly collapsed. Daryl kept his knife raised, prepared for anything.

Except this.

He was staring at blue eyes. They were cloudy, but not like the eyes of walker. But they were still blue. He felt his breath leave him. No…it was impossible…

And then he heard a clicking. Her hand was on his arm and she shoved him aside, burying her knife into a walker that had come up behind him. He heard the clicking again. "If you're not going to fight, then get out of the way!" she growled, taking down another walker.

Daryl stepped back, looking around to see if anyone else was seeing what he was seeing. But everyone was still engaged in their own fight. Except there was another person with them. One that Daryl didn't recognize. He was fighting next to Rick and the two seemed to be comfortable with each other, anticipating the other's next move.

One last walker came up to Daryl, but he easily killed it. He looked around and saw that most of the walkers were dead and everyone were beginning to catch their breath again.

He heard the clicking again and saw her standing at the edge. She was breathing heavily as she put her knife away and wiped her forehead. She clicked her tongue again as she turned to face him. And he was staring at her eyes again. Yet, she didn't seem to be looking at him.

"Over here!"

She clicked her tongue and moved past him, walking towards whoever just called out.

He watched her. And he saw Maggie nearly collapse if Glenn hadn't caught her. "Beth?" she called out.

Beth stopped, "Maggie?" she responded, not turning to face her.

"Oh my God, Bethy!" Maggie exclaimed as she ran to her and pulled her into a tight hug.

Beth didn't return the hug. Her arms stayed out, hanging limply against Maggie. Maggie realized this and pulled away. "Beth?"

Beth reached out a hand and ran her fingers over Maggie's face. She seemed to let out a breath she was holding. "It is you."

Maggie bit her lip. "Your eyes…?" and then Maggie was on the ground. She had fainted.

Beth clicked her tongue and slowly turned around. "Morgan? Who's here?"

The new man, Morgan, stepped forward and grabbed Beth's arm. He started leading her towards Rick. "It's Rick," he said.

Beth reached her hand out and traced his face like she did Maggie. She closed her eyes and gave him a hug. Everyone began approaching her one at a time. She would touch their face and say their name, giving them a hug. With the new people, they would introduce themselves and give a handshake. Beth had nearly cried when she held Judith, pressing kisses to her head and constantly touching her face.

"Where's Daryl?" Beth finally asked after everyone else had finally gone up to her.

Daryl swallowed hard. "Here" he called out softly.

Beth turned, clicking her tongue and making her way towards him. She reached her hand out and touched his cheek. Daryl didn't mean to, but he flinched. Beth pulled her hand back. "Sorry," she mumbled. She reached her hand up and touched his arm. Her eyebrows furrowed as she kept it there for a few moments. "It was you I pushed, wasn't it?"

Daryl nodded. Then remembered she couldn't see. "Yeah,"

Beth kept her eyes on him. If Daryl didn't know better, he would've thought she was staring at him. But he saw the nasty scar on her forehead. The bullet at Grady. She had died. He saw another scar on her cheek and above her eyebrow. Those were from Grady too. He looked back at her eyes. The same blue he had grown used to seeing. The blue that he tried to see in anything when she was taken from him. But now they were cloudy.

Daryl took a step back. "I need to go hunt," he mumbled before leaving her and everyone else behind.

He cleared his mind and refused to think about her. After everything, he couldn't believe this was actually happening. Stuff like this just didn't happen anymore.

Yet, when he came back to camp with three rabbits, she was still there. Maggie sitting on one side of her and Carl sitting on the other side with Judith on his lap. Almost everyone was sitting around her, catching her up on things. Rick, Morgan, and Abraham were off to the side though, discussing and trading plans.

Daryl stayed at the edge of camp and began skinning the rabbits. Carol noticed him, but didn't come up to him until the rabbits were ready to be cooked. She grabbed them from him and handed them to Tara, asking her to get them ready. Daryl didn't move and Carol came back and sat next to him.

"By some miracle she survived that bullet." Carol explained. "We think the people from Grady figured this out when that herd attacked and took her back to the hospital. She escaped once she was well enough. Morgan found her right after, which was another miracle. She wouldn't have been able to defend herself blind. He taught her how to still defend herself by clicking her tongue and detecting where things are. Morgan knows Rick, that's why he was tracking him. He didn't know Beth was one of us."

Daryl didn't say anything as he wiped his hands from the rabbit blood.

Carol sighed. "You blame yourself, don't you?"

Daryl clenched his jaw, but didn't say anything. He should've known better. He should've known Dawn would go back on her word. He should've known there was no such thing as a safe place anymore.

"She's still alive. You have to remember that."

Daryl still didn't say anything and Carol left him with his thoughts.

They ate the rabbit and some canned food, quietly celebrating Beth's return. Daryl stayed at the edge, but kept his eyes on Beth. She was on edge, tilting her head every time there was the smallest sound of a twig snapping. She noticed these sounds more after her vision loss.

It was late and everyone was beginning to settle in for the night. Maggie insisted that Beth sleep next to her. Beth agreed, but Daryl could see by the way she clenched her fists that she wasn't happy with the idea. Daryl offered to take first watch. He didn't think he would be able to sleep anyways.

Everyone managed to fall asleep. Some into a sleep deeper than others. A few seemed to struggle with their nighttime demons, but still stayed quiet and asleep. Daryl sharpened his knife against a rock as he kept watch and looked everywhere, but at Beth.

After a while, he heard the soft click of a tongue and then some footsteps. Clicking. Footsteps. Clicking. Footsteps. Finally, it stopped, but only because Beth was slowly lowering herself to sit next to him.

"You planning on keeping watch all night?" she asked.

Daryl grunted, keeping his eyes on his knife.

"Want me to help?"

Daryl scoffed and looked at Beth. He saw a hint of a teasing smile on her face. Then he looked at her eyes again. The guilt bubbled in his stomach and he had to look away. "Go back to sleep." he finally said.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. Go lay down and shut your eyes." Daryl snapped.

"So then why don't you try?" Beth retorted.

Daryl started biting his thumb.

Beth slowly reached out. Daryl watched as her hand grabbed his hand and pulled it away from his mouth. "Please, Daryl…"

She didn't need to voice her question to know what she was asking. Daryl looked at her. He slowly brought his hand up and touched the scar from the bullet. She inhaled sharply, but didn't move. Daryl moved his hand to touch the other two scars on her face. He shifted his hand that was in hers until he was touching her wrist and the scars there too.

"Please," she repeated, much softer this time.

Daryl took a deep breath. He stood up, holding her hand and pulling her up with him. He led her towards where everyone was sleeping, but still on the edge of camp. He made her sit down as he went to grab some blankets and started spreading them on the ground. He left her there as he went to Rick. He gave his shoulder a gentle shake.

Rick's eyes flew open and his hand went to his machete. He looked at Daryl. "There a problem?" he asked, his voice hoarse from sleep.

Daryl shook his head. "Your turn to take watch."

Rick nodded and slowly started getting up. Daryl made his way back to where Beth was still sitting. He laid down and gently pulled Beth towards him.

She moved to lie down as well, carefully adjusting herself and trying her best not to bump into him anywhere. Once she was settled, she had positioned her back to Daryl and kept a foot of empty space between them. Daryl felt an old feeling bubbling in his stomach. It was that feeling he had back at the funeral home, back when he was beginning to get used to it and actually enjoy it.

He didn't question his next move as he scooted towards her and grabbed her waist.

Daryl wondered if Beth was expecting this because she rolled over at his touch and moved closer to him until there wasn't any space between them. She buried her face in his chest and Daryl rested his chin on the top of her head.

Beth let out a deep sigh as she made herself comfortable. "Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?" he asked.

Beth titled her head, as if to look at him. "For this."

She buried her head back in his chest and Daryl took a deep breath. He gave her a gentle squeeze as he pulled her in as close as possible. He would die before he let anything ever happen to her again. And he sure as hell wouldn't let go of her again.

Daryl closed his eyes and fell asleep.


End file.
